Article-positioning mechanism



July 23, E946. M. g. FERNALD 2,404,480

ARTICLE-P05 ITIONING MECHANISM 4 Original Filed March 11, 1942 0 fill w174 176' Fig. 3

W; 41mm Patented July 23, 1946 ARTICLE-fQSITIONINQ Mark E. Fernal'd,Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,Flemington, N. J a corporation of New'Jer-sey Original application March11, 1942, Serial No. 434,301, now Patent N 0. 2,381,893, dated August 6,1945. Divided and this application March 30, 1943, Serial No. 481,113 V23 Claims. 1

This invention relates to mechanism by which various articles may bepositioned in a predetermined manner, it being of especial utility indetermining the direction of advance of such headed articles as shellsfor cartridges. The present case is a division of the application forimprovements in distributing apparatus filed in my name in the UnitedStates Patent Ofiice on March 11, 1942, and bearing the Serial No. 434,-301 and issued August 14, 1945 as Patent No. 2,381,893.

When articles of definite form are taken from a heterogeneous mass fortreatment, it may be desirable to deliver them in a predeterminedmanner, depending upon their form, an instance of this being furnishedby the previously mentioned distribution or cartridge-shells. An objectof my invention is to efiect such positioning of articles by mechanismsimple in character, certain in action, and capable of being adaptedreadily to varying conditions. This object I achieve by combining withmeans, as a raceway or raceways, for delivering such articles ascartridge-shells, or the like, an inverting device separated by a spacefrom the delivering means and to which the articles are advanced, thisdevice being movable by the forward ends of the articles in thedirection of advance from the delivering means until the articles at therear have left the delivering means to fall into the space. In acartridge-shell, this forward end may be that opposite the head. Thereverse or head-end of the article may overbalance at the end of thedelivering means without reaching the inverting mechanism, so all thearticles assume like positions. The inverting device may also act as asupport or guide for the article during its reception and inversion, andmay have a member which is movable against the received article tocomplete its inversion. Into contact with the inverting device thearticles are forced by a roll or other means, associated with thedelivering means. The normal relation of the inverting device to thedelivering means and the resistance of the inverting member todisplacement are preferably variable to adapt these to the articlesoperated upon. The illustrated form of the inverting device includes aspring supported with its 1ength transverse to the end of the raceway,and a contact member carried by the spring and being displaceable by theadvancing articles. The member is preferably in the form of a loopcapable of acting as the above-mentioned support and guide for theadvancing articles, and with the loop is shown an associated finger,which s app nFiss. ;1 and 4 c the.

. 2 by movement against the article engaging the loop completes itsinversion. The .resistanceof the spri g to displacement of the loop, thenormal relation of said loop'to the raceway or delivering means, and thevertical positions of the contact member and .finger may all be variableto adapt the device to operate effectively upon a wide range of sizesand weights of articles. It will be seen that the inverting means is aunitary device without complication in structure or mounting, andrequiring the application of no power other than thatfurnished by theadvancing articles. Since the portion of the articles which acts uponthe inverting-device may vary in form, as in thecase of neckedor'unnecked cartridge-shells, the necked shells-may engage the contactmember or loop at their peripheries to-displace it, while associatedwith this member is a second abutment member, beyond the loop,

which is engaged by the leading edges of 'the open ends of theun'neckedshells. In thelatter case, the loop acts only as a support orguide for the articles. livered from a plurality of raceways, and here aconvenient arrangement of the positioning mechanism consists of a seriesof vertical plates, between which are filler-pieces forming.discharge-throats and above which the respective raceways terminate.Between each ,pair of plates, the spring for the contact member or loopof the inverting device is supported, with said contact member oppositethe end of the corresponding raceway, while upon the platesthea'diusting means for the springs are mounted.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating .a particular embodiment ofthis invention,

Fig; l is a view in side elevation of .my improvedpositioning mechanism,together .withlthe more closely associated elements, a necked shell,open end foremost, beingacted'upon Fig; 2 shows said inverting mechanismin. 61.6.,- va-tion as viewed from the left in Fig. 1 V

3 is. a separated perspective of elements of the-inverting device; 7 1

Fig.4, a fragmentary side elevation illustrating the path of a .shellproceeding flangedend foremost; and .7

Fig. 5, a like view in which theopenepd of a The invention as hereindisclosed is adapted shells S or S, these'having g nera y drical' bodiesor barrels, 011 15- Q eae hi h isclosedand has afiange 's,'whi1 e-;the,0 Si

Usually the articles are de- 3 has a reduced neck s between which neckand the barrel is a shoulder s". Or, as the shell S is shown in Fig. 5,the barrel may be gradually tapered from near the flange to its openend, thus being without the neck or shoulder.

At W, in Fig. 1, appears a raceway structure, a transverse series offorwardly and downwardly inclined grooved bars being clamped betweenopposite supporting side-plates 88. These bars are shown as furnished bysuccessive upper sections H4 and lower sections I24, there being betweenthe sections of each raceway an open space I28. Projecting upwardlythrough each of these spaces is the transversely grooved periphery of aroll I30 fixed to a shaft I34, which is constantly rotated in thedirection of the arrow in Fig. 1, during the operation of the mechanism,by belt-gearing I40. Cartridge-shells S descending the raceways areengaged by the rolls and urged forward, proper contact with said rollsbeing ensured by leafsprings I52 attached to a cover-plate I50 of theraceways and bearing at their free ends upon the descending shells, acontinual supply of which is furnished. from an unillustratedreceptacle. There is consequently delivered positively from the end ofeach raceway, under the influence of the corresponding roll I30, acontinuous series of shell end-to-end. The shells of each series beyondthe roll, save that which is leading, are rearticles which aredifferently formed at their 0D- ated beyond the raceway-sections I24,the selecting and inverting mechanism I mounted upon a set of parallelvertical plates 92, Between adjacent plates and individual to eachraceway, a discharge-throat I56 is formed between an inner filler-plateI58 and an outer filler-plate I60, ta-

perin-g downwardly and inwardly to a dischargepassage I62. At I63 theopposite edges of the filler-plates are grooved to facilitate themovement of the shells between them. The outer filler-plate is arrangedby slot-and-pin mountings I64, I64, to swing outwardly and upwardly, soaccess may be had to the throat to relieve cloggoing. Supported at I56between the upper portions of the plates 92 above each discharge-throatis a leaf-spring I68 extending transversely of the raceway, and havingsecured to its lower extremity a clamping plate I69 provided with frontand rear spaced walls. Between these walls, by a bolt I10, spaced armsof a loop I1I are held for vertical adjustment. Also verticallyadjustable by slots, through which the bolt passes, is a wall orabutment I14, lying outside the loop HI, and a contact-finger orprojection I15 extending inwardly and upwardly therefrom. Each of theinverting devices, including the spring, 100D, abutment and contactmember, is variable as to its normal position by engagement at the innerside with an eccentric stop I18, having projecting spindles rotatable inthe plates 92 and which may be turned to different angular positions andfixed by a set-screw I19, threaded into one of the plates 4 92 andengaging one of the spindles. The tension of the spring maybe changed bya lever I00, fulcrumed between the plates 92 and bearing at its upperextremity against. the inner side of the spring, The lower end of eachlever lies opposite openings I32 in the plates 92, and has an angularprojection I84 extending into one of these openings. A screw I86 isthreaded horizontally through the outer edge of each of the plates andinto its opening where it carries nuts I81 engaging the opposite sidesof the projection. As the screw is turned and the upper end of the leverswung thereby outwardly or inwardly, the spring IE8 is urged withgreater or less force against an abutment I88 between the plates 92 andalso against the stop I18. The tension of the spring is therebyincreased or decreased, and the resistance to displacement of the lowerend of the spring, and the elements which it carries, correspondinglyaltered. It will also be seen that provision is made by the eccentricI18 for varying the space between the entire inverting device and theend of the corresponding raceway; and by the slotted connection of thebolt I10 for changing the vertical position of the loop HI, and the timeof engagement of the finger I15 with the top of the shell. Thus, themost advantageous conditions may be established for shells of widelydiffering dimensions and weights.

As appears in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the reduced open end of a leadingnecked shell S is forward. As the series of shells is forced ahead bythe roll Hit, the neck passes into the space within the loop I11 which,at the bottom, supports it against falling and at the sides guides itlaterally. The shoulder s" bears against the arms of the loop. Theflanged end of the shell rests in proximity to the forward end of theraceway-bar I24. As the advance of the series of shells by the rollcontinues, the loo-p and. portion of the spring below the abutment I88are deflected outwardly, the necked end of the shell passing above thegroove in the upper edge of the filler-plate I50. This continues untilthe flanged end of the shell has left the raceway-bar I24. At this time,the deflection of the spring has brought the contact-finger I16 againstthe upper side of the shell, and exerts thereon a force urging theflanged end sharply down, so it'is turned into the throat I56 about theclosed lower end of the loop I1I as a pivot. It therefore falls flangedown into the discharge-passage I62, thence into a receiving passage230. To render certain the downward direction of the flanged portion,the upturned end of the flng'er'continues the pressure upon the shell,as the spring I68 receives its final deflection/ Had the shell left theraceway flanged end first, the weight of this would have been sufficientto'overbalance it at the end of the raceway beforetheloop I1I had beenreached. This is .as illustrated in Fig.4. This shell also would fallflange foremost into the discharge-passage. If shells or other articleshave a portion beyond the flanged or'heavy end, cylindrical or graduallytapered throughout instead of necked at the open end, the space betweenthe arms of the loop would be, of sufiicient width to pass this end ofthe shell without. defiection in the spring. Under such conditions thearms act merely as lateral guides, the bottom of the loop supporting theleading end of the shells as before. The wall I14 now. becomes effectiveto bend thespring outwardly, the ,delivery of the'shell, flanged enddown to theidis'chargepassage, being as already described; It is to benoted that this wall I'M may also be utilized for the delivery of neckedshells, the space between the arms of the loop being of a width whichwill readily pass the barrel as well as the neck.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with means for delivering articles, of an invertingdevice" to which the articles are advanced by the delivering means, saiddevice including a member receiving contact of the end of the articleand being movable by said article to eiTect its inversion and a membermovable with the contact-receiving member and against the article as aresult of the movement of the contact-receiving member to complete itsinversion.

2. The combination with means for deliverin articles, or an invertingdevice to which the articles are advanced by the delivering means, saiddevice including a member receiving contact of the end of the articleand being movable by said article to effect its inversion, and meanscooperating with the delivering means for forcing articles against theinverting device and thereby effecting its movement.

3. The combination with a raceway for delivering cartridge-shells, of ashell-inverting device to which the shells are advanced by the raceway,said device including a spring supported with its length transverse tothe end of the raceway and a member carried by the spring and beingdisplaceable by contact of the advanced shells.

4. The combination with a raceway for delivering cartridge-shells, of ashell-inverting device to which the shells are advanced by the raceway,said device including a spring, a member carried by the spring and beingdisplaceable by contact of the advanced shells and a member carried bythe spring and upon displacement of the first-mentioned member beingmovable against the shells.

5. The combination with a raceway for delivering cartridge-shells, of ashell-inverting device to which the shells are advanced by the raceway,said device including a spring, a member carried by the spring and beingdisplaceable by contact of the advanced shells and a member carried bythe spring and being movable against the shells, the last-mentionedmember extending rearwardly and upwardly above the advanced shells.

6. The combination with a raceway for delivering cartridge-shells, of ashell-inverting device to which the shells are advanced by the raceway,said device including a spring and a member carried by the spring andbeing displaceable by contact of the advanced shells, an abutment forone side of the spring, an eccentric stop for the opposite side of thespring, and means contacting with the spring for forcing it against theabutment and stop.

7. The combination with a raceway for delivering cartridge-shells, of ashell-inverting device to which the shells are advanced by the raceway,said device including a spring, an abutment for one side of the spring,an eccentric stop for the opposite side of the spring, a member engagingthe spring, and means arranged to vary the force of engagement of themember with the spring.

8. The combination with a raceway for delivering cartridge-shells, of ashell-inverting device to which the shells are advanced by the raceway,said device including a spring and a placeable by contact of theadvanced shells', and a rotatable roll -co'-operating withthe raceway toforceshells against themember. M

9.. The combination with a racewayfor delivering" necked shoulderedcartridge-shells, of a shell-invertingdevice to whichthe shells areadvanced by the raceway, said device including aspring and a membercarried by the spring and having portions between which the necks of theshells may pass, said portions'being displaceable by contact of theshoulders of 'the'advanced shells.

10.'The combination with a raceway for 'delivering headedcartridge-shells, of a shell-invertingdevice to which the shells areadvanced by the raceway. said device including; a spring and amember-carried by the spring and having portions between which the openends of the shells may pass, and a member carried by the spring andhaving portions between which the openendsofthe shell may pass and amember carried-by-the spring and displaceable by contact of the'leadingedges of the open ends of the'advanced shells. a

'11. The combination with a'racewayfor delivering headedcartridge-shells, of a shell-inverting device to which the shells areadvanced by the raceway,said device including a spring, a-member carriedby the springand being displaceable by contact of the leading edgesofthe open endsof the advanced shells and a member carried by the springfor engagement with the peripheries'of said shells. I

12. The combination with a raceway, of a spring 'supported at the end ofthe raceway, a loop carried by the spring opposite said end of theraceway and arranged to admit articles advanced from the raceway and tobe displaced by said articles.

13. The combination with a raceway, of a spring supported at the end ofthe raceway, a loop carried by the spring opposite said end of theraceway and arranged to admit and guide articles advanced from theraceway, and an abutment carried by the spring at the side of the loopopposite the raceway and which receives contact 'of and is displaced bythe articles. 14. The combination with a raceway, of a spring supportedat the end of the raceway, a loop carried by the spring opposite saidend of the raceway and arranged to admit and guide articles advancedfrom the raceway, an abutment carried by the spring at the side of theloop opposite the raceway and which receives contact of and is displacedby. the articles, and means arranged to vary the position of the loopand abutment longitudinally of the spring. 7

15. The combination with a raceway, of a spring supported at the end ofthe raceway, a loop carried by the spring opposite said end of theraceway and arranged to admit articles advanced from the raceway and tobe displaced by said articles, and a finger extending from the springtoward the raceway and movable into engagement with articles leavingsaid raceway.

16. The combination with a raceway, of a spring supported at the end ofthe raceway, a

loop carried by the spring opposite said end of the raceway and arrangedto admit articles advanced from the raceway and to be displaced by saidarticles, a finger extending from the spring means arranged to vary therelation between the loop. and finger.

. 17. The combination with a raceway, of a spring supported at the endof the raceway, aloop carried by the spring opposite saidendof theraceway and arranged to admit articles advanced from the raceway and tobe displaced by said articles, and a finger extending from the springtoward the raceway and movable into engage: ment with articles leavingsaid raceway, said finger being turned upwardly andrearwardly from theloop.

18. The combination with a raceway, of a leaf spring depending beyondthe end of the raceway, upper, and lower abutmentswith which oppositesidesof the spring contact, one of said abutments being furnished by aneccentric variable in position, and means carried by the lower end ofthe spring for engagement by articles leaving the raceway.

19. The combination with a raceway, or a leafspring depending beyond theend of the raceway, upper and lower abutments with which opposite sidesof the spring contact, a member movable against the spring to vary itstension, and means carried by the lower end of the spring for engagementby articles leaving the raceway.

20. The combination with a series of vertical plates, of spacedfiller-pieces situated between each. pair of adjacent plates and formingdischarge-throats, a raceway terminating between each pair of platesabove the discharge-throat, a spring supported between each pair ofplates above the discharge-throat, an abutment supported between eachpair of plates a leverfulcrumed between each pair of plates forengagement with the corresponding spring, and a screw threaded throughone of the plates oi a pair and contacting with the lever to force itagainst the spring and said sprin against the abutment.

21. The combination with means for delivering articles, of an invertingdevice separated by a space from the delivery-end of said means and.including a member furnishing a support for the forward end of eacharticle while the rear end of said article rests upon the deliveringmeans, the inverting device being movable by the article in thedirection of advance from the delivering means until the rear of thearticle has left said delivering means and falls inverted into thespace.

22. The combination with means for delivering articles, of an invertingdevice separated by a space from the delivery-end of said means andincluding a member furnishing a support for the forward end of eacharticle while the rear end of said article rests upon the deliveringmeans, the inverting device being movable by the article in thedirection of advance from the delivering means until the rear of thearticle has left said delivering means and falls inverted into thespace, and means arranged to vary the resistance of the inverting deviceto movement by the advancing article.

23. The combination with means for delivering articles, of an invertingdevice separated by a space from the delivery-end of said means andincluding a member furnishing a support for the forward end of eacharticle while the rear end of said article rests upon the deliveringmeans, the inverting device being movable by the article in thedirection of advance from the delivering means until the rear of thearticle has left saiddelivering means and falls inverted into the space,and means arranged to vary the width of the space between the deliveringmeans and the inverting device.

MARK E. FERNALD.

